Talk:Malachite/@comment-2601:1C2:700:18EF:845F:DCA:4634:980-20190912225358
"I'm calling BS that this is even your high school," Qibli announced, poking at one of the seats in the auditorium. "I mean, seriously! Who has a theater like this?" "Possibility High does," Glory countered, walking up the steps. "We've also got an upper and outside area to our cafeteria, a separate building for the gym, and a student store." "And meanwhile, Jade Middle School's only microwave explodes daily," Peril grumbled. "Are you sure about seeing this Aqua person?" Moon asked. "She sounds pretty rough." "I don't like it either, but I have to introduce Lynx and Qibli to the stage crew, and they need to know who they're working with onstage," Glory sighed, pushing the door to the light booth open. "Hey, Aqua, it's---" A set of headphones flew at her. "I know who you are. Just show me the new blood." Qibli and Lynx edged in, staring warily at the girl in the light booth. She had dark brown hair with sky-blue tips, and every piece of clothing was some shade of blue. A second set of headphones were around her neck. She stood up, eyeing Lynx up and down. "You're the makeup girl?" "...Yeah?" Lynx squeaked. "Make sure not to add in too many sparkles. It can mess up the lighting." Aqua turned to Qibli. "You and Birdy had better give me a detailed list of what the set looks like after you're done. I need to know the right spots." "Nice to meet you, too," Qibli muttered, adjusting his collar. "Oh, and these are the new actresses," Aqua continued, looking over at Moon and Peril. "Which we shouldn't even need, but Changbai and Garnet decided that their personal lives were more important than the play. Let's hope you're at least a little bit better than them." "No, no, we're not going to quit!" Moon assured her. "It's our dream. Seriously. No joking." Aqua arched an eyebrow. "Good. Now get out of my booth." "Well, that girl could stand to loosen her thread," Lynx muttered as they walked back down to the stage. "She makes Starry look like the nicest person on the planet." "Starry is actually the nicest person ever if you catch her in the right mood," Deathbringer called. "Aqua's just grumpy all the time." "I HEARD THAT, BAYNE!" Aqua yelled. Deathbringer shrugged. "See?" "Come on, let's go backstage," Glory said, waving them over. Starry---or at least Qibli assumed she was Starry, judging by the hair---jumped up from the piece of plywood she was painting. "Great, you're here! Are these Moon and Peril?" "Purple and red are, yeah. Silver and yellow are your new stage crew members." "So nice to meet you guys," Starry said, shaking Moon's hand (and Peril's gloved one). "I'm really excited to be working with you. And you two!" she exclaimed, beaming at Qibli and Lynx. "Glacier's really glad that we've got a makeup artist---now we can make the fairies look like fairies. And lord knows we need another hand in this." Qibli raised an eyebrow. "Glory, are you sure this is the same person you were telling us about?" "It all depends on the mood," Starry laughed, waving her hand. "Qibli, this is Hummingbird. He's our construction guy." A huge, muscular guy with light brown skin and brilliant green hair in a buzz cut stood up. "Hey," he said in a low, rumbling voice. "You can call me Birdy." "Wait, this is Hummingbird?" Peril's electric blue eyes practically doubled in size. "Definitely not what I was expecting." Birdy laughed. "I used to be pretty tiny when I was little. That didn't last long." "Oh my gosh, are these the new guys?" Glory grinned at a girl with short brown hair holding a sketchpad in her hands. "Seal, this is Qibli and Lynx---they're on your crew---and Peril and Moon, our new lead actresses." "Isn't Puck the lead?" Moon asked. Seal shrugged. "Yeah, but you can't have a play without our star-crossed lovers. Speaking of which, have you met Sharpe and Storm?" "Yeah, they seem cool," Peril said. "Storm didn't scream in terror when he saw me, at least." "Great! I'm Seal, the costume designer. And Sparrow here is my second-in-command." A girl with short, reddish orange hair waved at them. "Nice to meet you." Moon frowned slightly. "Are you from---" "Ireland, yeah," Sparrow said, nodding. Qibli realized that she did in fact have a slight accent---barely noticeable, but still there. "I moved here when I was five. Lived in Dublin." Moon's face grew slightly confused. "Dublin? Are you sure?" "Of course I'm sure." A tall woman with short white hair clapped her hands. "Okay, everybody! We're starting from the top! Hermia! Lysander! Demetrius! Get on up here!" "Oops, that's your cue," Peril said, pushing Moon onstage. "Have fun!" (Moon POV) Play practice went by in a whirl. All of the other actors seemed pretty nice---though, Clay and Peril, rather than actually talking to each other, just blushed at their lines while occasionally looking over at the other, which was irritating. But that wasn't the only thing on Moon's mind. Sparrow wasn't from Dublin. Sure, she was definitely from Ireland. But the memories that flashed through her head---very faint, and yet still easy to see---were of a city nestled inside a forest, with a shimmering green dome around it. And occasionally, there'd be a flash of a woman with scars and a kindly smile. And that wasn't the only thing. Moon was beginning to develop a theory on why she couldn't read Turtle's mind. He always wore a bracelet studded with some kind of black stone. Grandeur was just as unreachable---and her wedding ring had black stone embedded inside it. It had something to do with that. She was almost positive. I should probably tell Peril about the mind-reading thing, Moon thought, looking over at her. I don't know how she'll take it, though. I can tell her that I can't control it, but I think I know a way to block it... and I can tell her that I can barely read hers anyw---'' "Hey, Spacey," Qibli said, nudging her slightly. "You all right?" "Yeah," she answered, blushing. "Just thinking." "About those two idiots, right?" he guessed, pointing over to Clay and Peril, who were attempting to ignore each other and failing. "I don't get it. I mean, the guy's immune to fire, right? Perfect. Match made in heaven. Just kiss already." Moon nodded in agreement. "If I was Peril, I'd have at least asked for his number by now." "I don't think you'd have a fire thing like she does," Qibli said thoughtfully. "You'd probably have some more mysterious thing like... I dunno, seeing the future, or talking to the stars---" "Or reading minds?" It had just slipped out, but saying it made her want to stuff those words right back into her mouth. He smiled at her. "Yeah. Exactly. Though, it'd kind of be embarrassing if you knew everything about me." Qibli looked back over at the stage crew people, who were doing some complicated, four-person handshake. "By the way, how'd you know Sparrow was Irish?" Moon shrugged, hoping she looked at least a little bit casual. "Guess based on her accent. I have two Internet friends who live in the U.K." "Cool. And, uh, speaking of being from somewhere else... is there anything you miss about Portland?" She paused, thinking. "Powell's Bookstore, definitely... there's this little cafe that makes the greatest grilled cheese and tomato soup in the history of ever... the library... food carts... and the pianos." Qibli raised an eyebrow. "Pianos?" "Yeah. There's these pianos that are all in some cool styles right outside the art museum, and you can just sit down and play whatever you want. And one time a bunch of people sat down and just... they played ''Bohemian Rhapsody all together, and the separate parts and harmony were all played by a different piano." Moon smiled as she recalled the memory. "It was amazing." "Well, what if I told you that all of those things could be found somewhere in Pyrrhia?" She gawked at him. "Wait, really?" "Really!" He grinned. "I can show you if you want. Full tour of the city this weekend by me---I mean, if you're free. If not, than---" "No, no, that's fine," Moon said hurriedly. "I'd love to." Qibli blushed and grinned. "Great. See you then." ------------------------------- No weird bold font this time! Yay! Also, to Sparrow, I hope you like the little tidbits I put in about her. After reading the bio, I felt like I should add in her LeafWing side as well as her SkyWing one. And Aqua, I hope you like how I did her, too. Hope you liked this chapter, and next time, we'll be able to see Moon and Qibli's hangout *cough* date *cough* and I may or may not include the Salamander explanation. See ya! ---Starry the NightWing